British singer-songwriter Lana Crow tackles self-righteousness, outrage culture, and screen-addled societal drift on “Orwellian Times,” a hook-driven indie-pop and pop-rock stunner that moves from understated acoustic introspection into soaring guitar-charged urgency. Crow’s vocal command proves especially gripping as her pointed observations cut through with both melodic memorability and sharp, timely bite. It’s another standout from the artist, who caught our ears in January with the track “What Brings You Back.”
Understated guitar strums and dreamy vocal mystique open, the latter contemplating “Orwellian times.. who’s ruling us?” as a stirring vocal lead emerges with another question: “Are we now living in Orwellian times?” The lushly absorbing intrigue continues amidst a biting modern poignancy: “Do you think your TikTok / Is holding all the knowledge to secrets of the world?” The opening verses play like a solemn address to a society with their heads glued on their screens, ingesting content that in many cases is outrage-inducing misinformation.
The production grips especially as heavier guitar pulses pair With Crow’s ascended vocal emotion, resonating in its “self-righteousness is killing all sense” and “we are heading for such, such a perfect mess” observations. Further musings on these difficult times invigorate into a soaring guitar solo, traversing in a satiating final minute with a “what brings you to glorify death?” concluding vocal commentary. Both thematically and melodically memorable, “Orwellian Times” is an excellent piece of songwriting from Lana Crow.
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We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
